A Layered Zinc Phosphate, [C6N4H22][Zn6(PO4)4(HPO4)2], Formed by One-Dimensional Tubes

An open-framework zinc phosphate, [C6N4H22][Zn6(PO4)4(HPO4)2] (I), with alternating inorganic and organic layers has been synthesized hydrothermally from a starting mixture of ZnO, HCl, H3PO4, H2C2O4, and triethylenetetramine. Single-crystal data for I: monoclinic, space GROUP =P21/c (No. 14), a=9.881(1), b=16.857(1), c=8.286(1) Å, β=96.7(1)°, V=1370.8(1) Å3, Z=2, R1=0.06, and wR2=0.13 [1408 observed reflections with I>2σ(I)]. The structure of I comprises a network of ZnO4, PO4, and PO3(OH) tetrahedra forming one-dimensional tubes. The tubes, in turn, are linked via oxygen atoms forming macroanionic inorganic layers with eight-membered apertures. The one-dimensional tube-like architecture in I is a novel feature worthy of note.

A stereospecific approach to cis-anti-cis triquinanes

A methodology for the synthesis of compounds containing the cis-anti-cis fused triquinane system has been developed starting from tricyclo[5.2. 1.0(2.6)]deca-4,8-dien-3-(exo)ol 6 involving Ireland ester Claisen rearrangement and intramolecular diazo ketone cyclopropanation reactions as key steps.

Synthesis, Structure, Negative Thermal Expansion, and Photocatalytic Property of Mo Doped ZrV(2)O(7)

A new series of compounds identified in the phase diagram of ZrO(2)-V(2)O(8)-MoO(3) have been synthesized via the solution combustion method. Single crystals of one of the compounds in the series, ZrV(1.50)Mo(0.50)O(7.25), were grown by the melt-cool technique from the starting materials with double the MoO(3) quantity. The room temperature average crystal structure of the grown crystals was solved using the single crystal X-ray diffraction technique. The crystals belong to the cubic crystal system, space group Pa (3) over bar (No. 205) with a = 8.8969 (4) angstrom, V = 704.24 (6) angstrom(3), and Z = 4. The final R(1) value of 0.0213 was achieved for 288 independent reflections during the structure refinement. The Zr(4+) occupies the special position (4a) whereas V(5+) and Mo(6+) occupy two unique (8c) Wyckoff positions. Two fully occupied O atoms, (24d) and (4b), one partially occupied 0 atom (8c) have been identified for this molybdovanadate, which is a unique feature for these crystals. The structure is related to both ZrV(2)O(7) and cubic ZrMo(2)O(8). The temperature dependent single crystal studies show negative thermal expansion above 370 K. The compounds have been characterized by powder X-ray diffraction, solid-state UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectra, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The photocatalytic activity of these compounds has been investigated for the degradation of various dyes, and these compounds show specificity toward the degradation of non-azoic dyes.

An Antitubulin Agent BCFMT Inhibits Proliferation of Cancer Cells and Induces Cell Death by Inhibiting Microtubule Dynamics

Using cell based screening assay, we identified a novel anti-tubulin agent (Z)-5-((5-(4-bromo-3-chlorophenyl)furan-2-yl)methylene)-2-thioxothiazoli din-4-one (BCFMT) that inhibited proliferation of human cervical carcinoma (HeLa) (IC50, 7.2 +/- 1.8 mu M), human breast adenocarcinoma (MCF-7) (IC50, 10.0 +/- 0.5 mu M), highly metastatic breast adenocarcinoma (MDA-MB-231) (IC50, 6.0 +/- 1 mu M), cisplatin-resistant human ovarian carcinoma (A2780-cis) (IC50, 5.8 +/- 0.3 mu M) and multi-drug resistant mouse mammary tumor (EMT6/AR1) (IC50, 6.5 +/- 1 mu M) cells. Using several complimentary strategies, BCFMT was found to inhibit cancer cell proliferation at G2/M phase of the cell cycle apparently by targeting microtubules. In addition, BCFMT strongly suppressed the dynamics of individual microtubules in live MCF-7 cells. At its half maximal proliferation inhibitory concentration (10 mu M), BCFMT reduced the rates of growing and shortening phases of microtubules in MCF-7 cells by 37 and 40%, respectively. Further, it increased the time microtubules spent in the pause (neither growing nor shortening detectably) state by 135% and reduced the dynamicity (dimer exchange per unit time) of microtubules by 70%. In vitro, BCFMT bound to tubulin with a dissociation constant of 8.3 +/- 1.8 mu M, inhibited tubulin assembly and suppressed GTPase activity of microtubules. BCFMT competitively inhibited the binding of BODIPY FL-vinblastine to tubulin with an inhibitory concentration (K-i) of 5.2 +/- 1.5 mu M suggesting that it binds to tubulin at the vinblastine site. In cultured cells, BCFMT-treatment depolymerized interphase microtubules, perturbed the spindle organization and accumulated checkpoint proteins (BubR1 and Mad2) at the kinetochores. BCFMT-treated MCF-7 cells showed enhanced nuclear accumulation of p53 and its downstream p21, which consequently activated apoptosis in these cells. The results suggested that BCFMT inhibits proliferation of several types of cancer cells including drug resistance cells by suppressing microtubule dynamics and indicated that the compound may have chemotherapeutic potential.

Lithium D-Isoascorbate Monohydrate, a New Nonlinear Optical Material

Single crystals of lithium D-isoascorbate monohydrate (LDAM), (C6H7O6Li center dot H2O), are grown by a solution growth method. The crystal structure of LDAM is solved using single crystal X-ray diffraction. The space group is orthorhombic P2(1)2(1)2(1) with four formula units per unit cell and lattice parameters a = 7.7836(3) angstrom, b = 8.7456(3) angstrom, and c = 11.0368(4) angstrom. Solubility of the material in water is determined thermogravimetrically and found to have a positive temperature coefficient of solubility. Large optical quality single crystals are subsequently grown from aqueous solution by a slow cooling method. The crystal has a bulky prismatic habit and among the prominent faces the c face appears as the only principal morphological face. The crystal exhibits a (010) cleavage. Dielectric spectroscopy reveals a nearly Debye type Cole-Cole behavior with anisotropy in relaxation. Optical transmission range is found to be from 300 to 1400 nm. The principal refractive indices of this biaxial crystal, measured using Brewster's angle method, at wavelengths 405, 543, and 632.8 nm, show high dispersion. The crystal is negative biaxial with 2V(z) = 107.8 degrees (405 nm) and belongs to the Hobden class 3. Theoretically generated type 1 and type 2 second order phase matching curves match very well with the experimental results. The second-order nonlinear coefficient d(14) was determined to be 7 x 10(-13) m/V. For the optimum phase matching direction (type 2), the second-order effective nonlinear coefficient and the walk off angle are determined to be 0.84 times d(14) and 3.5 degrees respectively. The crystal possesses high multiple surface damage thresholds of 18 GW/cm(2) and 8 GW/cm(2) at laser wavelengths 1064 and 532 nm, respectively.

Generation of Ligand Specificity and Modes of Oligomerization in beta-Prism I Fold Lectins

beta-Prism I fold lectins constitute one of the five widely occurring structural classes of plant lectins. Each single domain subunit is made up of three Greek key motifs arranged in a threefold symmetric fashion. The threefold symmetry is not reflected in the sequence except in the case of the lectin from banana, a monocot, which carries two sugar-binding sites instead of the one in other lectins of known three-dimensional structure, all from dicots. This is believed to be a consequence of the different evolutionary paths followed by the lectin in monocots and dicots. The galactose-specific lectins among them have two chains produced by posttranslational proteolysis and contain three aromatic residues at the binding site. The extended binding sites of galactose- and mannose-specific lectins have been thoroughly characterized. Ligand binding at the sites involves both conformational selection and induced fit. Molecular plasticity of some of the lectins in the family has been characterized. The plasticity appears to be such as to promote variability in quaternary association which could be dimeric, tetrameric, or octameric. Structural and evolutionary reasons for the variability have been explored, and the relation of oligomerization to ligand binding and conformational selection investigated.

Oxy-steam gasification of biomass for hydrogen rich syngas production using downdraft reactor configuration

The paper focuses on the use of oxygen and steam as the gasification agents in the thermochemical conversion of biomass to produce hydrogen rich syngas, using a downdraft reactor configuration. Performance of the reactor is evaluated for different equivalence ratios (ER), steam to biomass ratios (SBR) and moisture content in the fuel. The results are compared and evaluated with chemical equilibrium analysis and reaction kinetics along with the results available in the literature. Parametric study suggests that, with increase in SBR, hydrogen fraction in the syngas increases but necessitates an increase in the ER to maintain reactor temperature toward stable operating conditions. SBR is varied from 0.75 to 2.7 and ER from 0.18 to 0.3. The peak hydrogen yield is found to be 104g/kg of biomass at SBR of 2.7. Further, significant enhancement in H-2 yield and H-2 to CO ratio is observed at higher SBR (SBR=1.5-2.7) compared with lower range SBR (SBR=0.75-1.5). Experiments were conducted using wet wood chips to induce moisture into the reacting system and compare the performance with dry wood with steam. The results clearly indicate the both hydrogen generation and the gasification efficiency ((g)) are better in the latter case. With the increase in SBR, gasification efficiency ((g)) and lower heating value (LHV) tend to reduce. Gasification efficiency of 85.8% is reported with LHV of 8.9MJNm(-3) at SBR of 0.75 compared with 69.5% efficiency at SBR of 2.5 and lower LHV of 7.4 at MJNm(-3) at SBR of 2.7. These are argued on the basis of the energy required for steam generation and the extent of steam consumption during the reaction, which translates subsequently in the LHV of syngas. From the analysis of the results, it is evident that reaction kinetics plays a crucial role in the conversion process. The study also presents the importance of reaction kinetics, which controls the overall performance related to efficiency, H-2 yield, H-2 to CO fraction and LHV of syngas, and their dependence on the process parameters SBR and ER. Copyright (c) 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Exciton-phonon scattering and nonradiative relaxation of excited carriers in hydrothermally synthesized CdTe quantum dots

Naturally formed CdTe/CdS core/shell quantum dot (QD) structures in the presence of surface stabilizing agents have been synthesized by a hydrothermal method. Size and temperature dependent photoluminescence (PL) spectra have been investigated to understand the exciton-phonon interaction, and radiative and nonradiative relaxation of carriers in these QDs. The PL of these aqueous CdTe QDs (3.0-4.8 nm) has been studied in the temperature range 15-300 K. The strength of the exciton-LO-phonon coupling, as reflected in the Huang-Rhys parameter `S' is found to increase from 1.13 to 1.51 with the QD size varying from 4.8 to 3.0 nm. The PL linewidth (FWHM) increases with increase in temperature and is found to have a maximum in the case of QDs of 3.0 nm in size, where the exciton-acoustic phonon coupling coefficient is enhanced to 51 mu eV K-1, compared to the bulk value of 0.72 mu eV K-1. To understand the nonradiative processes, which affect the relaxation of carriers, the integrated PL intensity is observed as a function of temperature. The integrated PL intensity remains constant until 50 K for relatively large QDs (3.9-4.8 nm) beyond which a thermally activated process takes over. Below 150 K, a small activation energy, 45-19 meV, is found to be responsible for the quenching of the PL. Above 150 K, the thermal escape from the dot assisted by scattering with multiple longitudinal optical (LO) phonons is the main mechanism for the fast quenching of the PL. Besides this high temperature quenching, interestingly for relatively smaller size QDs (3.4-3.0 nm), the PL intensity enhances as the temperature increases up to 90-130 K, which is attributed to the emission of carriers from interface/trap states having an activation energy in the range of 6-13 meV.

高超声速湍流分离激波运动特性

给出半圆柱前缘舵诱导的高超声速湍流分离激波运动特性。实验气流M数为7.8单位长度Re数为3.5×10~7/m。结果表明，随着M数的增加，分离激波两边压力比的平均值加大，但对其用前缘直径无量纲的激波运动区长度和用自由流速度无量纲的激波向上（下）游运动速度的平均值影响不大。

Influencia del tamaño-forma de la parcela experimental y el número de repeticiones sobre la precisión de los datos experimentales, en el cultivo del maíz (Zea mays L.)

Con el objetivo de estudiar la influencia del tamaño y forma de la parcela experimental y el número de repeticiones sobre la precisión de los datos experimentales en el cultivo del maíz (zea mays L) se estableció un Ensayo de Uniformidad en la finca “El plantel “ con la variedad NB-6. El tamaño de la U.B. Los datos del ensayo de uniformidad se analizaron basados en la Ley de varianza de Smith. Siguiendo el procedimiento de Koch y Rignev (1951), para determinar las varianzas correspondientes: El Método de Hatheway (1961), se utilizó para determinar la relación objeto de estudio. Se determinó que: En suelos de heterogeneidad media (b=0.55). Asumiendo un alfa de 5% se pueden emplear combinaciones de tamaños de parcelas con número de repeticiones de: 27.98m2; 8.04m2, 3.87m2 y 2.31m2, con 2, 4, 6 y 8 repeticiones respectivamente: la relación tamaño-forma de la parcela experimental sobre la precisión de los datos obtenidos, no ejerce una influencia relevante o considerable sobre la precisión alcanzada.

高超声速压缩拐角再附峰值热流率

给出三维和二维压缩拐角诱导激波与高超声速层流和湍流边界层相互作用的流场结构和前向压缩表面的热流率分布。实验气流M数为7．8，单位长度Re数为3．5×107／m。结果表明：激波与边界层相互作用能促进边界层转捩。只有基于再附峰值热流率位置长度的参考温度条件下的雷诺数足够低，相互作用过程才能是纯层流的。在全再附高超声速分离流中，再附峰值热流率可用Simeonides通用相关式进行估算。

第18届国际理论与应用力学大会(ICTAM-18)

<正> 由国际理论与应用力学联合会(IUTAM)召开的4年一次的第18届国际理论与应用力学大会(ICTAM-18),于1992年8月22—28日在以色列海法市的以色列工业学院举行。大会选定的3个主题是:固体与结构力学中的不稳定性;海面力学与海气相互作用;生物力学。设置主题分会的目的是对力学中的某些重要领域做综合介绍,以强调这领域的重要性,或对新领域起提倡作用。

超音速、小高超音速三元薄翼非定常二次理论的准确度及其适用范围

本文处理了超音速三元薄翼非定常问题,通过PLK法使二次解均匀有效。首先考虑零攻角或初始攻角时,已知基本定常绕流叠加高-量级的非定常小扰动流,把它线性化。本方法从健全的基本方程出发,使用高马赫数近似,将非定常二次方程化简,其形式与定常二次方程类似,因而有可能利用定常二次理论的方法求解。特解是求解的关键。鉴于精确特解的复杂性,本报告采用了一种近似特解。 本方法适于一般超音速和完全高超音速之间的马赫数区域(约3～8),折合频率可达至1左右。可较精确地估计厚度,初始攻角对非定常气动力,力矩的影响。 目前据我们所知,还没有有关实验数据,只能和一些理论结果进行比较。为此对低频有初始攻角的超音速前缘平板三角翼进行了计算,在马赫数3～8,与D.D.Liu~[6]比较吻合。计算结果表明,三元薄翼二次理论可用到高超音速相似参数Mδ=1.0。

饱和水泥试样被爆炸激波损伤破碎的尺度研究

利用水中爆炸冲击波使水泥试样损伤破坏,模拟爆炸采油时激波使岩石损伤开裂的现象.实验获得了适合本实验条件的激波峰压衰减规律p_m≈8.2(~3√W/R~(1.46)),得知压碎区尺度为集中装药特征尺度的2～5倍、拉伸损伤区尺度为集中装药特征尺度的20～30倍,激波使水泥试样破碎、拉裂的能量占总能量的2%～7%.

A Non-Parametric Dimension Test of the Term Structure

Published as an article in: Studies in Nonlinear Dynamics & Econometrics, 2004, vol. 8, issue 3, article 6.